


Camera Obscura

by yesterdaysblue



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Modelling, Multi, Photoshoots, nathan helped jefferson once and feels bad about it but jefferson keeps trying to blackmail him, only a little bit of max/ramona but the main focus is nathan/ramona, rachel-esque character but it's not rachel she's just good at artsy stuff, starts before the events of life is strange but syncs up eventually, that poetry jam that none of the main characters signed up for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23307187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yesterdaysblue/pseuds/yesterdaysblue
Summary: Ramona Quinn is an A student that wants to participate in things like plays and clubs, but is too shy to do so. Maybe as she explores her unrequited love of Nathan Prescott, she'll be forced to be more extravagant. All she wants is his attention, but is that too much to ask for?
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Original Female Character(s), Nathan Prescott/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Camera Obscura

**Author's Note:**

> There hasn't been a Nathan story left untouched by me I don't think and I'm sick and tired of not getting the content I want, so I'm making my own story where I make the rules as well as the lovable characters you will all soon know and grow to love, hate and feel for.
> 
> Also, here's a link to my Spotify playlist where it's all my favorite songs from the Life is Strange soundtracks and a handful of others that I feel mesh well together. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21Fk4pnzg5A14PcVR8DpV7

Saturday, October 5th, 2013

_So I really wanted to tryout for the poetry jam today but I think I'm too chicken shit. I'm still going, to the tryouts, but I don't think I'm going to participate. I'm not sure if anyone I know will be there, but just being around poetry and others that actually like poetry is good enough for me. I mean, I'm not naive. I don't expect someone to call on me and be all, 'Why don't you get up there, champ and give us your own poem?' That would be cool and I could be all like, 'Oh sure thing!' and rattle off the best poem they'd ever heard from a highschooler, but no, I won't expect my life to be that giving. I'll go to the library, listen to some poems and support my friends if I have any in there and I'll ask the teacher if they want any help in preparing for the big day and I'll leave. No spotlight, no stage fright._

Ramona took a deep breath as she approached the library doors whose shadows seemed so much more ominous and looming than she had seen them previously stand. She wasn't scared of them, or the library. She was just nervous. She stood there with her hand on the handle, not quite making any move to actively open the door until it was done for her.

"This is bullshit!" The voice was carried through the doors in an outburst of motion that caught Ramona off guard. The owner of the voice had pushed through the door Ramona had yet to open and consequentially had pushed her to the ground in a heap of shock and awe. Nathan Prescott was the force whirlwind-ing his way out of the library and all Ramona could do was blush. She'd just about had a crush on him since she first laid her eyes on him. His cool blue eyes, bulky varsity jacket, his neatly yet messily coiffed hair. He was a cliche bad boy with anger issues and money and good looks. Ramona knew she had no chance with him, or would ever have the chance to be near him with his near impossible to penetrate crowd of lackeys. Yet here she was, on the ground next to him, at his disposal. Nathan had been standing there, not sure if he should help her or leave her on the ground. It was like the two were having a staring contest but neither party was aware of it.

Ramona swallowed as if batting down her fear and decided to break the silence. "Hey."

This broke Nathan out of his stupor and he screwed his face up, "Hey? What the fuck do you mean, hey? I just knocked you over with the goddamn door and all you can say to me is hey?" He rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand. A friendly gesture coming from someone else but from Nathan it was like a double-edged sword pointed right at the recipient. Though, Ramona was enthralled with Nathan and couldn't help herself when she reached out to grasp Nathan's hand in her own. He pulled her up with just enough force to pull her up but she stumbled and kept going. She fell into him, resulting in his other hand around her waist to keep them both standing.

"Oh, oh my god. I-I'm so sorry!" Ramona pulled herself from Nathan's grasp as if coming out from under a spell. She backed away slightly and crouched down to pick up her phone which had fallen out of her grasp when she had been knocked over. "Um, I'm um, Ramona-I'm so sorry." She shook her head and passed Nathan through the library doors but stopped when they slammed behind her. She turned back and saw Nathan rub his face, turn and leave. She clutched her phone to her chest and chastised herself for being so stupid. Why did she tell him her name? Why did she apologize? Why did she just leave him there? "God, I am so stupid." She muttered to herself. "Unbelievable."

—

Throughout the tryouts Ramona couldn't concentrate on anyone or anything. Instead of sitting down in the area that was set up for the other kids to watch she had been idly pacing behind the bookshelves. Picking books up and almost immediately putting them back down as she realized she wasn't going to actually read any of them. Her thoughts stayed on Nathan Prescott for the entirety of her time in the library. When it was time for everyone to leave after they had all discussed where to check for the list of participants, Ramona stopped one of the teachers and asked about why Nathan was leaving the library angrily earlier.

"I think he was trying to work in here before we set up and when he realized that we would be talking the whole time he couldn't stand it. He stormed out before any of us really knew what was going on." Oh, so he was looking for some peace and quiet in a place that was supposed to peaceful and quiet.

Ramona thanked the teacher and left the library, ready to go relax at her dorm and daydream about Prescott some more. Though her trek was cut short when she bumped into someone outside of the main school doors.

"Oof, sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Ramona looked up and there he was again. There was Nathan Prescott, standing in Ramona's way. "Oh, Nathan." Ramona flashed him a smile, "Sorry again, for earlier, I don't know why I acted so weird. I said sorry and then told you my name like... I don't know like a loser, maybe." Ramona scuffed her feet on the pavement, waiting for Nathan to say something to her.

"Yeah, okay, what was your name again? Ramona? Yeah, can you leave? I want some quiet before my life is possibly ruined." Ramona's cheeks turned a deep red and she looked down at her feet, vaguely aware of Nathan pulling out a cigarette and lighting it regardless of them being on the school steps out in the open.

"Um, yeah-I, I'm sorry, again. I'll leave you alone." She felt stupid. Like an even bigger idiot than before. The embarrassment was hard for her to fight but eventually her eyes felt growing pinpricks of heat as tears began to well up. She was halfway back to her dorm by then and her emotions were even harder to control as she walked up the steps into the girls' dormitory. She wasn't going to sob or spend the whole night thinking about how she was wronged by Nathan Prescott, but it felt bad to be humiliated by someone she had a massive crush on.

As Ramona approached her room at the end of the hall she couldn't help but notice the new message left on her dry-erase board in bright pink marker.

_**Wannabe art hoe** _

That was new. Ramona licked her thumb and went to erase the message but it didn't budge. She huffed and went inside her room without trying much harder to clear it. "What the fuck." She slumped into her desk chair and put her head in her hands. This was a shitty afternoon and she didn't care to repeat it. Ramona removed her hands from her face and looked at her laptop, wondering if she should just put on a movie and forget about the events that had transpired throughout the course of, let's say an hour and a half, or, should she do some homework she hadn't yet completed...?

Okay a movie it is. Ramona unplugged her laptop and moved it with her to her bed, creating a cocoon for her to sit in and feel protected from anymore bad things happening. After scrolling and looking up different feel-good movies, she ended up just choosing one of her favorites, even though she had seen it more times than she had talked to her parents in the last few months she'd spent at Blackwell. Ah, there it is. Ramona felt a kind of satisfaction after pulling it up and pressing play. So, it was kind of silly for this to be one of her favorite movies, but it always cheered her up. The girl, who at first is an outcast, gets everything she could have ever wanted at first with the price of becoming someone she wasn't, but then comes to realize that it didn't all have to change for her to keep living her life like she wanted. The movie in question was of course The Princess Diaries as well as its sequel which Ramona would probably also be watching this afternoon. Ramona just wanted something to happen in her life that made her feel like Mia. God, she just wanted to be a princess. She wanted good friends and a love interest that actually reciprocated her feelings and she all around just wanted to feel wanted. And that's how these two movies made her feel. Though it wasn't until after the foot-popping kiss at the end of the first movie that she realized she had the power to make her life how she wanted it to be. Monday, she would put on her makeup, get dressed really cute, and make her hair less Mrs. frizzle and more Mia Thermopolis. Ramona had been blessed with her moms thick black curls and her dads bright green eyes. She had freckles all over, though not like the typical redhead freckles, more like individual freckles. Oh, also big Harry Potter glasses, and with her prescription they were like coke-bottles, but they were still cute and added to Ramona's overall artsy aesthetic, though maybe if she wanted to get Nathan's attention in a good way, she would forgo them for a day or two. Really make sure her eyes popped when she was making sure Prescott looked her way.

—

After the movie, Ramona made the decision to go out and buy something a little girlier than what she normally wore. Maybe a cute dress and some new shoes other than her beaten down sneakers. Though Ramona didn't have a job, she did have a mother that wanted to spend as much time with her as she could, even if that meant spending some money and yelling at her daughter for not trying on the things she wanted her to try on.

"Hey, mom." Ramona had called her mom, wanting to see if she could go shopping with her the next day. Her mom was a park ranger that worked day and night to ensure that Arcadia Bay remained beautiful.

"Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?"

"Um, it was boring for the most part. I went to watch the poetry jam tryouts and ran into the really pretty boy that I like." Ramona's mother gasps over dramatically and they both let out giggles.

"So when you say ran into, do you mean-"

"Yes, I literally ran into him outside of the library. I totally panicked and I said sorry even though he was the one that knocked me over-"

"He knocked you over?"

"Yes, but it was fine, but like I was saying, I was the one apologizing and I said hey and he was all like, 'what do you mean, hey?' and I said sorry again, I think and I said my name and then I ran into the library away from him to hide how embarrassed I was." Ramona placed a hand on her forehead and looked to the ceiling, knowing just how hilarious her mom thought her exchange with Nathan was.

"Wow. That is... Wow."

"I know...Ugh, and then after the tryouts were over I walked out of school to go back to my room and I ran into him again, this time I stayed on my feet but he looked so worried about something and I said sorry again and then I just left him there and I came back to my room and I watched the Princess Diaries and then I realized that I wanted to actually get somewhere with him and my first thought was to call you and ask if you would be off tomorrow so we could go get something cute for me to wear." Her mother squealed with excitement.

"Yes! Yes of course, honey! Oh my goodness, I'm picking you up early tomorrow. Oh my gosh, be ready by 9, we'll go eat breakfast and go to the mall! Ugh, I can't! I love you, Mona Lisa! See you in the morning!"

"Love you too, Mom. See you tomorrow!" Ramona ended their call and threw herself onto her bed. The excitement running its course through her veins as she thoroughly thought out which stores she and her mom would visit tomorrow. "Oh my god I've gotta tell Max!" She pushed her hair behind her ears and looked for some flip-flops. When she couldn't find any within 5 seconds of looking around she muttered a 'screw it!' and opened her door. A grimace flickered across her face as she caught sight of the hot pink graffiti on her message board but she wiped the expression away when she knocked on Max's door.

"Ma-a-ax," She sang as she started knocking to a beat that didn't quite match. Having fun at the expense of her friend's ears and others in the hall that were probably studying or trying to relax. 

A door opened from behind and Ramona turned to look at the source, Victoria Chase. "Hey, can you shut the fuck up?"

Ramona opens her mouth thinking about just continuing to sing for Max, but instead opts for an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Victoria. She won't answer... Um, how was your day?", Ramona leans against Max's door and folds her hands behind her back. Still looking at Victoria, sheepishly waiting to see if she'll even grace her with a reply.

Victoria stands with an open mouth, not quite knowing how to react to Ramona's actions. "It was fine until I heard your screeching. What do you want with Maxine anyways?"

Ramona smiles and leans forwards, "Oh she doesn't like the name Maxine, that's why we call her Max," She pauses as Victoria rolls her eyes, "Uh, I was just coming over to tell her about something I was looking forward to, tomorrow."

Victoria nods her head, trying to make it obvious that she's bored, "Well whatever it is, if she isn't answering you should just text her or something so the rest of us can continue our night in peace."

Ramona nods and shrugs her shoulders, "Yeah, you're right. Sorry again." She smiled at Victoria and started toeing her way back to her door when Max opened her own.

"Ugh." Victoria shut her door, leaving Max and Ramona alone in the hallway.

"Oh, hey Ramona." Max was halfway leaning out of her room, hanging onto the door frame to keep her upright and looking at Ramona who was standing next to her door.

"Hey Max!" Ramona rushed back over to Max's room and pushed her through her open doorway then closed it behind them. "Okay, so. Nathan Prescott knows my name now and I'm going shopping tomorrow with my mom so we can get something... Provocative for me to wear while I try to catch his eye, if you know what I mean." Ramona looked over her shoulder at Max and rolled it as if she was at a burlesque show and winked at her.

Max didn't look all that excited but bit her tongue and let her friend continue to tell her about her plan to get with the craziest kid on the fucking block. "Okay, how do you know he knows what your name is?".

Max sat down on Max's bed and beckoned her over by patting the mattress next to her. "Okay so long story short, he bumped into me, I said sorry and I said my name then later I bumped into him and he repeated my name back to me when he was talking to me about something. It's progress! Ahh," She fell back and sprawled out, content with the days events and ready for the next days to unfold.

Max slowly laid down next to her. Feeling a whirl of emotions that she wasn't sure how to describe. Discontent, something a little like anger but not that strong and, jealousy? "Ramona? What's your romantic history like?"

"Barren. I've never had a foot-popping kiss or cuddled with anybody or... had sex."

"And you want... Nathan to be all those firsts for you? You see Prescott as a cuddler? Really?" Max propped herself on her elbow and looked at Ramona.

"Well I mean, yeah. I-I just want someone that I like to return the favor. Is it so bad that my first pick is a little out of the blue?" Ramona shifted her gaze to look at Max who was slightly above her because of their current positions. "Is it so bad to like someone that I've barely had contact with? That probably didn't even know I existed before today?"

"In my opinion, yeah. Maybe if it doesn't work out with Nathan, you could try with someone a little more tangible, y'know? Maybe someone likes you that's a lot closer than you think." Ramona reached up to Max's hair and twirls it around her finger.

"Max?" Her eyes darted across Max's face, taking in her expression which read like pain, hope and fear.

"Ramona?" Max's hand crawled from the bed next to her to Ramona's cheek devastatingly slow. It was like they were moving in slow motion. Like they were pulled to each other but couldn't quite touch all the way, as if they were magnets but the polarity wasn't as binary as north and south. For a while there wasn't any motion except for their chests moving with their breath and their eyes studying one another. Max's hand moved from Ramona's cheek to her jaw, her thumb brushing against her lips as she made her own way closer and closer still to Ramona. Ramona's eyes were closed and her breath was quickened, Max studied her with every inch she pushed past until her lips were on her own. Max closed her own eyes, savoring the moment when Ramona returned the kiss and pulled her closer than before. Max curled her fingers in Ramona's hair and straddled her as her friend held her face like she didn't want to let go anytime in the near future.

"Mm-" Max let up and removed herself from Ramona's lips to allow her to talk, "Max... I didn't know." She lifted herself onto her elbows and gazed into her eyes, Max still on her legs.

"That's okay. You know now." Max leaned in for another kiss but Ramona stopped her and guided her to lay down next to her. She traced her jaw down her neck then back up to her lips as she drew her in to kiss her now that they were lying side by side.

Ramona giggled and twisted her legs with Max's, still holding her face until Max leaned back. "What is it?", Max didn't reply, she just began kissing places other than Ramona's lips. Her cheek, her nose, her jaw then her neck. Max placed kisses all over Ramona's neck until finally she let out a cute gasp that Max took as a sign that she hit the right spot. "Max,", It was almost an obscene moan as Max kept working the spot of sensitivity on Ramona's neck. Max knew that Ramona was going to hangout with her mom tomorrow, but she would find a way to hide it until Monday, when Max wanted Nathan to see it. Maybe if Nathan knew in the back of his mind that Ramona was seeing someone, he wouldn't trail along whatever advances Ramona made towards him. She wanted Ramona for herself. All of her. She slid her hand under Ramona's shirt hem, grabbing at her waist and working her way up when Ramona stopped her. "Max." This time it was laced with confusion and other negative emotions unlike before. Her hand grabbed onto Max's hesitantly and slowly pushed it away. "I don't think I want this. Not now at least." She sighed and let her head fall back to the mattress they were lying on.

"Um, okay. I'm sorry... Are you alright?" Max was disappointed but her friend's mental health was more important than what she wanted. Max had never acted on something like this before and quite frankly she was confused on her own. Why did she act so-gosh, dominant? Like she wanted to devour Ramona before Prescott and his cronies could. Max rolled away from Ramona and laid on her back.

"Yeah, I'm-I'm fine. Um, I'm gonna go back to my room." Ramona sat up and crawled over Max's legs and walked the few steps to her door before turning back, "I'm sorry. See you later.", And with that she was out the door. Max could still hear her footsteps walk next door and she could hear when her door opened and shut for the last time that night. Max ran her fingers through her hair and sighed in discontent. She wouldn't know until tomorrow or possibly Monday during class if she had really fucked up or not.

Meanwhile Ramona was sat in her room against her door. Fingers tracing her lips where Max's had met them and trailing down to where presumably Max had left a bruise. With the thought that she wanted to see it popping into her mind, she stood up and walked to her mirror, turning her chin upwards to see that where the hickey laid was not discreet at all. She would have to wear makeup on her outing with mom... But maybe she would leave it alone during the school day. She felt like it made her feel powerful. Though she wasn't sure she wanted to fully reciprocate Max's advances, she was sure that hickeys and bruises from lovers was something she was in to apparently and would like more of in the future. Hell, maybe Nathan would think it was sexy to see her all marked up. Regardless, it was late for someone who had to get ready and out of the dorm by 9 am so she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed, not without feeling the bruise she was becoming fond of one last time.


End file.
